Device for inserting springs in pockets



Jan. 6, 1948. H. P. GLAZIER 2,434,209

DEVICE FOR INSERTING SPRINGS IN PQCKETS Filed Aug. 19, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet l I INVENTOR.

EE- Y wzg zw 1948- H. P. GLAZIER DEVICE FOR INSERTING SPRINGS IN POCKETS Filed Aug. 19, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Harald F 61 42 2 67;

BY I

H IZKNEV5.

Jan. 6, 1948. H. P. GLAZIER I DEVICE FOR INSERTING SPRINGS IN POCKETS 4 Sheet-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 19, 1944 v Q 1 INVENTOR. Harv/J 7 4221226 Jan. 6, 1948.

H. P. GLAZIER DEVICE FOR INSERTING SPRINGS IN POCKETS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Aug. 19, 1944 INVENTOR.

flare]! F BY W, V/fZM.

Patented Jan. 6, 1948 UNi'iED STATES P NT OFFICE DEVICE-FOR INSE P C RTING SPRINGS IN KETS Harold P. Glazier,

Murray Corporation .of

Detroit, Mich, assignor to The America, Detroit, Mich,

a corporation of Delaware Application August 19, 1944, Serial No. 550,146 10. Claims.v (Cl. 226-18) the spfngs in individual pockets formed in a,

folded strip of fabric material which isstitched at equally spaced points normal to the fold. A piurality of the strips containing the springs are then assembled in nested relation to form a spring cushion with each of the springs spaced from each other by the double wall'of fabric to eliminate any sound that would otherwise occur between adjacent springs when deflected. Difficulty has always been experienced when inserting the springs in pockets and retaining them therein. It has been the practice to collapse the springs and insert them in the pockets with'the axis of the spring disposed 90 to the axis of the pocket. The open ends of the pockets were thereafter closed by a line of stitching and thesprings were manually turned 90 to permit them to. expand in the pocket with their axes aligned with theaxes of the pocket. This was an expensive and tedious operation, and the present inventionprovides a simple device for assembling the springs in the row of pockets with their axes disposed on the axes of the pockets. The invention is an improvement of the device illustrated, disclosed and claimed in the patent to A. F. Werner, No. 2,093,531, issued September 21, 1937, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention.

The pockets employed in combination with the present invention are made from a strip ,of material which is folded along each edge to have the folded portions overlap. The folded fabricis stitched in the usual manner to form individual pockets having openings in the sides where thematerial overlaps. A spring .compressingand delivering device has fingersfrom which the compressed springs are delivered. directlyinto the pocket through theopening in. the side whichis disposed thereover; An ejecting arm moves the spring from the fingers as the fingers manipulate the springs, to have the bottom edge initiallyreleased so as to permit the spring to expand into the pocket on both sides of the opening with the axes of the springs disposed upon the axes of the pockets. For filling the pocket it is only necessary to insert the opening in the pocket over the fingers and manipulate the ejector arm to advance the spring from between the fingers into expanded position in the pocket.

Accordingly; the main objects of the invention fingers between which are; to provide a machine for inserting springs in pockets and expanding the springs therein. with the axes of the springs disposed upon the.

axes of the pockets; to provide a machine having a compressed spring is manipulated as it is pushed therefrom into the pockets to have the axis of upon the axis of the pocket in expanded position; to provide a device for receiving andcompressing springs and for advancing the compressed springs from spaced delivery fingers between which the spring is turned to be delivered lengthwise of the pockets; and in general to .provide a device for compressing and delivering springs which is simple in construction and positive inoperation.

Other objects and features of novelty of this invention will be specifically pointed out or will become apparent when referring, for a better understanding of the invention, to the'following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a broken planview of a spring compressing and delivering device embodying features of this invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlargedsectional view of the structure illustrated in thereof;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged ture illustrated in Fig. 1, taken on thereof;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 3, taken on the line 4-4 thereof;

sectional view of the structhe line 3--3 Fig. 5 is a broken front viewinelevation of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged broken view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 3, with the spring collapsed and in delivering position;

Fig. '7 is a plan view of the folded fabric material which is loaded with springs delivered by the machine illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 7, before a springis delivered therein;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view of the structure, similar to that illustrated in Fig. 8, after a spring has been inserted therein;

Fig. 10 is a sectional trated in Fig.9, takenon and n Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of the operating mechanism employed with the machine illus trated in Figs. 1 to 10. 7

As pointed out hereinabove, it has been the practice in the. art to form strips of pockets for view of the structure illusthe line Ill-l0 thereof,

the spring disposed Fig. 1, taken on the line 2 receiving springs by folding a fabric material and stitching the folded portions together along equally spaced lines normal to the folded edge. The present invention utilizes a row of pockets made from a fabric material having both edges folded and the end portions overlapped interjacent the folded edges. A strip of pockets formed in this manner is illustrated in Figs. '7 to 10 inclusive. In Figs. 7 and 8 the rows of pockets are illustrated before th springs are inserted therein, while Figs. 9 and 10 disclose the pockets after springs have been inserted therein by the device of the present invention.

The strip of material i2 is folded at l3 and I4 to provide a short lapped portion l5 disposed under a longer lapped portion 16. The fabric is stitched at ll along equal'y spaced lines normal to the fold. material are sewn in a gang stitcher in a continuous operation, as disclosed in the above-mentioned patent. Each pocket l9 of the strip has a spring inserted therein between the flaps l5 and [6 by the device employed in the present invention which will now be described in detail.

The machine for compressing and inserting the springs in the pockets comprises a plurality of standards 2| for supporting a base plate 20 on which a rotatable table 22 is mounted. The table 22 is supported on a bearing element 23 which spaces the table from the base plate 20. A pintle 24 extends from the center of the bearing 23 through a bearing element 25 which is secured to the table 22 and against which a washer 26 is forced by a spring 21 secured on a stud 28 which is attached to the end of the pintle 24. The table is provided with a plurality of cylindrical openings 29 along the peripheral edge having aligned sleeves 3| secured to the top of the table by suitable means, herein illustrated as by welding. The sleeves receive the springs which are dropped therein by the operator at the loading station to rest upon the base plate 20. The peripheral edge of the table is provided with notches 32 adacent to each of the openings 29 by which the table is indexed each operation an amount equal to the space between the centers of adjacent sleeves 3|. This advances the sleeves seriatim under a compression head 33 which enters the sleeves and compresses the spring against the base plate 20 to have the top coil thereof disposed below the table 22. An ejecting head 34 then advances to move the compressed spring radially outwardly on the base plate 20 to be dis-- posed between spaced fingers 35 and 36 which tilt the axis of the spring through 90 in a manner hereinafter described as the spring is inserted in a pocket with its axis disposed upon that of the Pocket.

Upwardly projecting standards 3'! are mounted on top of the base plate 20 near the front side edges thereof. Horizontally disposed alignedtubular elements 38 extend toward each other above the table 22 and sleeves 3| and support a housing 39 containing the mechanism for operating the compression head 33. This embodies a cylinder 4| containing a piston for operating a piston rod 42 on the end of which the compression head 33 is secured.

A control valve 43 is mounted within the housing 33 having an operating element 44 disposed in the path of movement of a finger 45. The finger is mounted on a rod 46 having a projecting flange 47 which is secured to the end of the piston 42. When the compression head 33 is in its lowermost position, the finger 45 engages'and moves A plurality of the folded strips of the operating element 44 of the valve 43 to operative position. This reverses the flow of fluid in the ejecting ram 48 which moves forward to eject the spring.

The ram 48 is supported on the under side of the base pate 20 by bolts 49 and has a piston rod 5| attached to a crosshead 52 which projects through a slot 53 in thebase plate 20 for supporting one end of the ejector rod 54. The ejector element 34 is supported on the opposite end of the ejector rod 54 and has an angularly disposed recess 55 at its front end which slopes forwardly at 56 to have the lower end of the ejector element extended forwardly of the top portion. This ejects the bottom portion of the compressed spring from the fingers 35 and 36 before the top portion is released therefrom.

A valve 5'! is disposed adjacent to the ram 48 having an operating element 58 engaged by finger 59 on the crosshead 52 when the ejector element 34 is in retracted position. The operating element 58 is released when the head is advanced to eject a spring which operates the valve 5'! and reverses the flow of fluid in an indexing cylinder 6|. This retracts the piston rod 62 of the cylinder El and the operating head 63 supported on the end thereof. A switch 64 has its operating element 65 engaged by a finger H on the crosshead 52 when the ejector head 34 nears the end of its forward stroke. This operates the switch to off position to interrupt the flow of current to a solenoid valve which is reversed to reverse the flow of fluid to the spring compression cylinder 4| which retracts the head 33 from within the sleeve 3! to the position illustrated in Fig. 3.

This upward movement of the head 33 and the rod 46 releases the operating element 44 for the valve 43 which returns to its initial position and reverses the flow of fluid on the ejector ram 48 which is thereby retracted. The retracting movement of the ram 48 operates the valve 57 to reverse the flow of fluid to the indexing ram 6| which is advanced to have the indexing head 63 project in the next adjacent notch 32 on the periphery of the table 22 for advancing the table a distance equal to the arcuate spacing of the center of the sleeves 3|.

The lower finger 36 extends forwardly of the upper finger 35 and contains a support on which the finger 35 is pivoted forming a unit which is secured to the base plate 20 by bolts 88. The finger 35 is recessed in the top surface for aiding in turning the lower coil of the spring upwardly as it is ejected. layer of rubber,

The pivoted top finger 35 has a leather, or other gripping materfal 68 secured to its under surface for engaging and retarding the forward movement of the upper coil of the spring to aid in the turning of the spring to a horizontal position as the lower coil is advanced ahead of the upper coil. The coil, being compressed between the fingers, rapidly expands when the lower coil is released from between the fingers to have the spring disposed longitudinally of the pocket when the pocket is removed from the fingers. This eliminates the stitching of the ends of the pockets after the spring is inserted therein and the subsequent turning of the spring to have it disposed lengthwise rather than crosswise of the pockets. This operation of turning the spring between the fingers by the advancement of the ejector head 34 is clearly illustrated in Fig. 6. When the forward portion of the top coil has moved beyond the upper finger 35, the bottom coil will have been agregaee .15 .deflectedupwardly by the upwardly sloping end pf :the lower finger 136 sufiiciently to permit the tension in the compressed spring to cause the bottom coil to spring forwardly and permit the spring to assume an expanded horizontal position within the pocket. The fingers, being disposed in a space between the two flaps of the pocket under the innermost flap, permit the spring to expand under both of the flaps so that no manipulation is necessary thereafter to have the spring located in a desirable manner within the pocket.

Referring more specifically to Fig. 11, a diagrammatic view illustrates the various operating elements and circuits employed with the device. ,A remote switch l5, which may be hand or foot operated, energizes a holding relay or starting switch it which energizes a solenoid valve H for reversing the flow of fluid in the circuit 18 of the cylinder ll. This operates the piston rod 42 which carries the compression head 33 into the sleeve 36 to compress the spring disposed therein. Near the bottom of the stroke the finger 45 strikes the operating arm if; of the valve which reverses the flow of fluid in the circuit 19 to the cylinder '38 and moves the ejector head as forwardly to force the compressed spring into the jaws 3'5 and from which it is ejected into the pocket disposed thereover.

At the beginning of the forward movement of the head Li ithe finger 59 releases the valve operating finger 5,8 of the valve 57 and reverses the flow of fluid in the circuit 8| to the cylinder 6! to retract the piston rod Near the end of the forward motion of the ejector head as, the finger 1'.

H engages the operating element 65 and moves the switch 5 3 to open position to thereby deenergize thesolenoid valve ll which reverses the flow of fluid in the circuit 18 and retracts the piston rod 52 and the compression head 33. This movement releases the valve operating finger Mi and reverses the flow of fiuid in the circuit id and retracts the ejector head 34 and the rod 5t. At the end of this retraction movement, the finger 59 strikes the valve operating finger 58 to reverse the valve 51 and the flow of fluid in the circuit Bl to the cylinder 6|. This advances the rod 52 from the end of the cylinder 5! and indexes the table 22 and moves the next adjacent sleeve 31 under the compression head 33. Near the end of this movement the operating head 63 strikes the link l3 which moves the operating element 65 and operates the switch 6d to closed position for completing the circuit from the switch to the solenoid valve 11.

After the release of the manually-operated switch 15, the switch i6 is retained closed by a holding coil, in the well-known manner. The switch 15 is de-energized when the switch 54 opens the circuit to the holding coil thereof and the solenoid of the valve fl is also de-energized.

As viewed in Fig. 1, the cylinder 66 has its rearmost end mounted on a pivot 85 and its forward end engaged by a spring 86 which retains the operating head 55 on the end of the piston rod 62 in engagement with the peripheral edge of the table 22 to permit the projecting end 81 thereof to engage the next adjacent notch ii! in the edge of the table. The conductors of the circuit 8! are flexible to permit the swinging movement of the cylinder iii, the piston rod 52, and the operating. head 63.

When loading the springs into the pockets, it is only necessary to have an operator insert the springs in the sleeves 3! while another operator parallel to .the

places=thepocketsoverathe sfingers :35 -an'd 36 and actuates the switch 15 thereafter. Ihis produces the sequenceof compressing the spring, ejecting thespring in thepocket, retracting the compression head and the ejecting head, andindexing the table, a pointed out hereinabove in detail.

When the spring isejected from between the fingers :35 and 35, .it is delivered with its axis axisiof the pocket so that when it expands it will fill the pocket with the axes of the pocket and spring in coincidence. This eliminates the operation of stitching the ends of the pockets after the spring has been placed thereinv and the manipulation of the spring to have its axis coincide with that of the pocket.

What is claimed is:

1. In a device for inserting a spring in a pocket having an opening in the side thereof, a pair of delivering fingers over which said pocket is insertable, the uppermost finger having on its under side a frictional surface for offering resistance to the movement of the top coil of the spring, the lowermost finger being longer than the upper finger and having an upturned end portion to aid in forcing the bottom turn of the spring upwardly so as to have the spring ejected with its axis horizontal.

2. In a device for inserting a spring in a pocket having an opening in the side thereof, a pair of delivering fingers over which said pocket is insertable, the uppermost finger having on its under side a frictionalsurface for offering resistance to the movement of the top coil of the spring, the lowermost finger being longer than the upper finger and having an upturned end portion to aid in forcing the bottom turn of the spring upwardly so as to have the spring ejected with its axis horizontal, means for compressing said spring, and means for ejecting said compressed spring from said fingers.

3. In a device for inserting a having an opening in the side delivering fingers over which sertable, the uppermost finger spring in a pocket thereof, a pair of said pocket is inhaving on its under side a frictional surface foroffering resistance to the movement of the top coil of the spring, the lowermost finger being longer than the upper fingeriand having an upturned end portion to aid in forcing the bottom turn of the spring upwardly so as to have the spring ejected with its axis horizontal, means for compressing said springs, means for ejecting said compressed spring from said fingers, means for retracting said compressing element and ejector element, and means for thereafter advancing a spring adjacent to said compression element.

4. In a device for inserting a spring in a pocket having an opening in the side thereof, a pair of delivering fingers over which said pocket is insertable, the uppermost finger having on its under side a frictional surface for offering resistance to the movement of the top coil of the spring, the lowermost finger being longer than the upper finger and having an upturned end portion to aid in forcing the bottom turn of the spring upwardly so as to have the spring ejected with its axis horizontal, and means for securing said fingers as a unit on said device so as to be readily interchangeable.

5. In a device for inserting a spring in a pocket having an opening in the side thereof, a base, a spring-delivering unit releasably secured to said base, said unit embodying a lower finger, an upper finger pivotally supported relative to said lower finger and being of shorter length, and a frictional material secured to the under side of said upper finger for retarding the movement of the upper coil of the spring when forced between said fingers.

6. In a device for inserting a, spring in a pocket having an opening in the side thereof, a base, a spring-delivering unit releasably secured to said base, said unit embodying a lower finger, an upper finger pivotally supported relative to said lower finger and being of shorter length, a frictional material secured to the under side of said upper finger for retarding the movement of the upper coil of the spring when forced between said fingers, said lower finger having an upwardly directed end portion which aids in turning the lower end of the spring upwardly when being ejected from between the fingers as the top coil of the spring is retarded 50 as to deliver the spring with its axis substantially horizontal.

7. In a device for inserting a spring in a pocket having an opening in the side thereof, a base, a spring-delivering unit releasably secured to said base, said unit embodying a lower finger, an upper finger pivotally supported relative to said lower finger and being of shorter length, a, frictional material secured to the under side of said upper finger for retarding the movement of the upper coil of the spring when forced between said fingers, a revolvable table on said base, a plurality of sleeves projecting from said table, a compression head above said fingers aligned with one of said sleeves, and an ejector element aligned with said fingers for moving a compressed spring therefrom.

8. In a device for inserting a spring in a pocket having an opening in the side thereof, a, base, a spring-delivering unit releasably secured to said base, said unit embodying a lower finger, an upper finger pivotally supported relative to said lower finger and being of shorter length, a frictional material secured to the under side of said upper finger for retarding the movement of the upper coil of the spring when forced between said fingers, a revolvable table on said base, a plurality of sleeves projecting from said table, a compression head above said fingers aligned with one of said sleeves, an ejector element aligned with said fingers for moving a compressed spring therefrom,

'means for retracting said compression element and said ejector element, and means for advancing the table to move the next adjacent sleeve in position to have its spring engageable by said compression element.

9. In a spring loading device having a table, a pair of projecting fingers adjacent t said table over which a pocket to encase a spring is disposed, said fingers extending horizontally with the top finger shorter than the bottom finger, a compression element for compressing the spring to a height less than the distance between the fingers on a vertical axis, and an ejector having a sloping face, the bottom portion of which extends forwardly of the top portion for advancing the lower end of the spring ahead of the upper end for tilting the spring when released from the fingers to have its axis disposed horizontally.

10. In a spring loading device having a table, a pair of projecting fingers adjacent to said table over which a pocket to encase a spring is disposed, said fingers extending horizontally with the top finger shorter than the bottom finger, a compression element for compressing the spring to a height less than the distance between the fingers on a vertical axis, and an ejector having a sloping face, the bottom portion of which extends forwardly of the top portion for advancing the lower end of the spring ahead of the upper end for tilting the spring when released from the fingers to have its axis disposed horizontally, the end of the bottom finger being deflected upwardly to assist in the tilting operation of the spring.

HAROLD P. GLAZIER.

REFERENCE S CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: 

